Your first essay on character

People often scratch just the surface of things, they’re dealing with. In relation to our topic, we just want to say that we often interact with people on rather a superficial level, without really getting to know them properly. We often avoid having a brief dialog with other people and only focus on outward appearances.

When devoting time to researching a particular topic or wandering the environs of a certain place, we normally learn much more. Unfortunately, when dealing with human beings, it takes us long talks to know this particular person better. In these talks, we naturally ask questions, read body language and attentively listen to answers. We feel all their emotions coming through.

Time spent to learn other people means you’re trying to analyze. We’re talking about a character analysis. However, you’re welcome to do this in a written form. To put this another way, you can write an essay on character.

Well, essays on character traditionally focus on observations about a certain character in a story. The given type of essay has nothing common with a literary analysis essay. It’s because in a literary analysis essay people deal with observations about a poem, book, play and so on.

Your essay on character building is far more specific. Here, you’re free to analyze one or several major characters. Though you take into consideration the overall literary work, you mainly focus on characters. Here, your number one objective is to help your readers to fully understand the emotional, mental and intellectual workings of the key character.

What’s the method of analyzing any character from a literary work? For this purpose, researchers usually study what this particular character says, thinks and certainly does. Apart from that, you take into account what other characters say about her or him.

In your essay on character traits you’ll depict the physical attributes of a certain character in order to provide your readers with a detailed mental picture of this person. You’ll describe his or her name and family background, however, it’s only beginning. You require digging deep into the character’s psyche in order to properly understand his or her motivations.

You should consider what the character says to himself in his mind. Also take into account what he say to his loved ones. All his thoughts and words will give you a detailed picture of the character. Besides this, pay much attention to the character’s action taken or not taken against other people. This will undoubtedly tell a lot about this particular person.

In your essay on good character ask the following questions:

How does the key character’s personality influence her or his actions?

Tell about his or her dominant traits of character.

What character trait can help him or her overcome all the obstacles on his or her life path?

What vices does the character have? Does he or she try to cope with them and how?

The key to a high quality character analysis essay is to build your work around vivid and rich examples. They will support your analysis. Most probably, your teacher is waiting for these examples.

Provide good examples of direct action the character has taken against various people, animals, places and even things. We hope your character will never try throwing plates up against a wall in despair and his or her dog will never be kicked by the master. Whatever your character does write it down as your readers are waiting for a pretty good glimpse at what this woman or man is really like.

Of course, it makes no sense to dwell on the character’s negative traits. Pay much attention to highlighting anything good in his or her soul. Like many other people, your character also has his own weak points and strengths. You require presenting an objective view of all the character’s aspects.

You should be specific when it comes to writing this character analysis essay. Avoid generalizing, as your purpose is to present an individual, unique character. Make your readers feel like making friends with your character.

A character analysis essay has its own motto: "Getting to know you better!" Indeed, going beyond the physical description of your character, you get deep inside his mind. Let his words, actions, beliefs, thoughts attitudes unveil the true person.

You should consider all of these things illustrated above in any literary work you’re studying. Give a glimpse of all these elements of the character to your readers. In this case, they will understand the whole intricate inner world of the character much better.